Derain, André (1880-1954)

Derain met Matisse at the Louvre when he was young (he would rejoin him much later at Collioure). He was friends with de Vlaminck and worked beside him in a workshop. He had an interest in Seurat, Van Gogh and Cezanne. All these influences meant that Derain would always put colour first. He applied it in large fragments, and appeared at one point to be one of the most daring of Fauvists. He left Bateau-Lavoir and went to Montmartre, where Picasso was living, and began to do sculpture. His style gradually became more traditional. His work includes portraits, landscapes, still lifes and fantastic creations, as well as stage sets (he was the scene designer for La Boutique by Diaghilev) and book illustrations, including L’Enchanteur pourrissant by Apollinaire, poems by Max Jacob and André Breton’s first book, Mont de Piété.